Space Grant Scholarship-Fellowship Programs Seeking Applicants

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium is accepting applications for its 2010-2011 scholarship and fellowship programs, which will award approximately $300,000 to students attending Old Dominion University and other consortium institutions.

Here is a description of the programs:

• Teacher Education STEM Scholarship Program-provides $1,000 awards to teacher education students, either undergraduates or graduate level, who also are studying science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) subjects and have an interest in teaching in a STEM discipline. Rising freshmen as well as current students are eligible.

• Undergraduate Research Scholarship Program-provides one-year, non-renewable support up to $8,500 per individual for undergraduate students pursuing a degree in a STEM field and actively engaged in a research project with aerospace relevance.

• Graduate Research Fellowship Program-provides $5,000 in support to graduate students pursuing a degree in a STEM field and actively engaged in a research project with aerospace relevance. This fellowship is renewable for up to three years.

More information about the programs, including a link to the application form, can be found at www.vsgc.odu.edu. The application deadline for the research-related programs is Feb. 8, 2010, and for the teacher education program, March 22, 2010. Underrepresented minorities, females and persons with disabilities are especially encouraged by the VSGC to apply.

A major goal of the VSGC is to help produce the engineers and scientists of the future. But consortium leaders report that while opportunities for careers in aerospace have expanded, the number of talented students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math has declined.

The scholarship and fellowship programs were established by the U.S. Congress to encourage more qualified young people to enter STEM fields.

The VSGC membership includes not only educational institutions, but also NASA, state educational agencies, Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, and other organizations involved in aerospace education and research. The consortium, which is administered by ODU, acts as an umbrella organization, coordinating and developing aerospace-related and high-technology educational and research efforts throughout the state and connecting Virginia's effort to a national community of shared aerospace interests.